What's in a name?....You'd be Surprised!!!

I recently came across a book that I think may be of interest to you guys...yea....I'm late on this one as well but you know what they say about being late... The book, of course is Freakonomics, written by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner and it is essentially a book that posits unusual economic suppositions(i.e. Roe v. Wade's effect on the crime rate or how little crack dealers make). This book was at the center of former Drug czar, William Bennett's remark last year in which he questioned whether the aborting of Black babies would cause a drop in the nation's crime rate(in all fairness, he did state that it would be a horrendous act...he failed to state however that which ever race would be aborted would indirectly decrease crime). The chapter entitled, Perfect Parenting, Part II;or: Would a Roshanda by Any Other Name Smell as Sweet? is perhaps the most interesting. The chapter asks whether African-Americans pay an economic price for choosing distinctly ethnic/Black sounding names. I'll be the first to admit that I cringe when I hear names such as "Daquan" or "Rykeisha" but this book successfully encapsulates the correlation between economics, salary and the connotation that certain names give off. Heck even names that serve as a lower class indicator amongst Whites was equally fascinating...poor Britney Spears. I am a believer that authentic African names should and can be encouraged....I believe it hasn't hurt a lad by the name of Barak Obama. Although one might be able to make the same argument for Kwame Kilpatrick (if he wasn't referred to as Detroit's Hip Hop Mayor, but I digress). I can't say enough about this book, which reached number 2 on The New York Times bestsellers list. It's definitely a worthy, if not necessary read, just be sure that you put the right name on your next resume.